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Real Madrid superstar Karim Benzema won the France Football Ballon d'Or at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday, October 17. Winning the prestigious accolade at 34 years old, Benzema became its oldest victor since Stanley Matthews (41) in 1956.
Former Liverpool man Sadio Mane (now Bayern Munich) and Manchester City ace Kevin de Bruyne finished second and third, respectively, in the 2022 Ballon d'Or standings.
Benzema, who became only the fifth Frenchman to win the Ballon d'Or, enjoyed a blistering 2021-22 season, scoring 44 goals and claiming 15 assists in 46 matches across competitions.
With him leading the charge, Real Madrid secured their 35th La Liga title and 14th Champions League trophy last season. Benzema emerged as the top scorer in both competitions, netting 27 goals in La Liga and 15 goals in the Champions League.
While Benzema was rightly awarded for his last season's exploits, Ballon d'Or’s final 30-man rankings were not devoid of controversy. Some players who were in blistering form in the 2021-22 season were overlooked, ranked considerably below where they should have been.
Today, we will take a look at the players whose rankings did not do justice to their performances last season. Here are five players who were ranked too low in this year’s Ballon d'Or standings:
#5 Vinicius Junior — Real Madrid
Arguably the most-improved player in Europe's top five leagues last season, Vinicius Junior occupied the eighth spot in the 2022 Ballon d'Or standings. After the season he had, it certainly looks too low to be acceptable.
The Brazilian left-winger formed a formidable pairing with Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema in the 2021-22 season, taking even the toughest defenses apart at will. Vinicius, who scored the winner in the 1-0 win over Liverpool in the Champions League final last season, bagged four goals and seven assists in 13 matches in the continental competition.
Vinicius Junior showcased his sharpness in La Liga as well, scoring 17 times and claiming 13 assists in 35 matches, helping Los Blancos to their 35th La Liga title. The 22-year-old also found the back of the net once in two Spanish Super Cup matches, bagging a goal in a 3-2 win over Barcelona in the semi-finals.
#4 Casemiro — Real Madrid / Manchester United
Former Real Madrid defensive midfielder Casemiro, who joined Manchester United earlier at the start of the 2022-23 campaign, occupied 17th place in the 2022 Ballon d'Or rankings. He shared the platform with Luis Diaz (Porto / Liverpool) and Dusan Vlahovic (Fiorentina / Juventus).
Casemiro was instrumental to Real Madrid’s Champions League, La Liga, and Spanish Super Cup-winning campaign in the 2021-22 season. He regularly intercepted threatening balls, turned defense into attack, and popped up with invaluable goal contributions from time to time.
Casemiro scored once and claimed three assists in 32 La Liga matches in the 2021-22 season. Additionally, he won 64 tackles, blocked 19 shots, made 59 interceptions, and cleared the ball 84 times (via FBRef). In the Champions League, he won 22 tackles, blocked six shots, cleared the ball 20 times, and made 23 interceptions in 11 matches.
#3 Christopher Nkunku — RB Leipzig
One of the most sought-after forwards in the world, Christopher Nkunku finished in the shared-bottom 25th place in the Ballon d'Or standings. He shared the spot with Joao Cancelo (Manchester City). Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea / Real Madrid), and Darwin Nunez (Benfica / Liverpool).
Nkunku emerged as one of the most prolific players in Europe last season, impressing in multiple roles and proving himself to be a formidable scorer as well as a creator. Nkunku scored 20 goals and claimed 15 assists in 34 Bundesliga appearances.
He also bagged seven and four goals in seven appearances each in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, respectively. To top it off, he netted four times and claimed three assists in the DFL Pokal to fire his team to glory.
#2 Robert Lewandowski — Bayern Munich / Barcelona
Robert Lewandowski, who won the Gerd Muller Striker of the Year award at the 2022 Ballon d'Or ceremony, finished fourth in the standings this year. Given how lethal he was in front of goal last season, he probably deserved to break into the top three.
Lewandowski, who left Bayern Munich for Barcelona in the summer transfer window, was in remarkable form in the 2021-22 campaign. The Pole featured in 34 Bundesliga games for Bayern last season, scoring 35 times and claiming four assists. Not only was his goal tally the best in Germany but it also overshadowed every other forward’s tally in Europe. With 35 goals, Lewandowski won the European Golden Shoe for the second year running (41 goals in 2020-21) earlier this year.
Lewandowski also scored 13 goals, bagged three assists and 10 Champions League games and netted twice in the DFL Supercup to take his tally to 50 goals.
#1 Thibaut Courtois — Real Madrid
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois finished seventh in the 2022 Ballon d'Or race, which, considering how brilliant he was last season, was disappointing. Although Courtois was awarded the Yashin Trophy for being the best goalkeeper last season, it could not overshadow his questionable positioning in the 30-man rankings.
Courtois, who made a record nine saves in the Champions League final against Liverpool to give Los Blancos a 1-0 win, was one of Madrid’s most influential players last season. In the Champions League, he conceded 14 goals in 13 matches, making a whopping 56 saves and keeping five clean sheets (via FBRef).
Courtois was just as influential in La Liga as well, conceding only 29 times in 36 games, making a staggering 116 saves, and keeping 16 clean sheets. Had it not been for his exploits under the bar, Los Merengues possibly would not have emerged on top in the competitions.
